Philippines – Home Away from Home, part 1 Fujifilm x100s

I was recently invited to tour the Philippines with some other Korean bloggers. Actually Dan Gray from Seoul Eats was invited, but thankfully couldn’t make it, so sent me instead. Koreans are the number one tourists over there and the Philippine Department of Tourism invited us to try to lure some more Koreans over. A free trip? Free tour? Top rate hotels and restaurants? Hell yes I’m in. I am horrible at planning vacations – year ago I spent 10 days in Vietnam and literally never left Ho Chi Minh City. My friend and I barely left our hotel rooms. We beelined to French bistros and then back home to safety. So, having a tour all planned out let me turn my mind off, my audiobook up, and zone the f out.

I loved the Philippines. It stole a part of my heart. It was beautiful, relaxing, and all that stuff that tropical islands are. But most importantly, the people were warm and welcoming. I think I miss a culture where strangers can talk to each other, smile for no reason, and be loving to a complete stranger. Before the Philippines adopted their current slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines”, it used to be “Your Home Away From Home”. I wish they never changed it – the latter is much more fitting. “It’s more fun in the Philippines” implies a wild lifestyle to me, like Vegas or something. But the Philippines isn’t like that. It’s just homey. I’ve already half decided to move there.

I will be posting detailed information of each day over at Seoul Eats in the coming weeks (as per our contract), but wanted to get some pictures up here for now.

For this trip I left my Nikon set at home and took only my new Fujifilm x100s.

Typically for a trip like this I’d bring my Nikon D700, 3-4 lenses, 2 flashes, and a tripod. I even considered taking my softboxes. I actually had all my batteries charged and all the gear organized, but the day before leaving I decided to leave it all behind and just take the Fuji. I’m glad I did. The Fuji was perfect for 90% of the trip. The only time I really wanted my Nikon kit was during action shots, and those were few. The fuji just isn’t built to capture action. The autofocus is slow and it doesn’t let you recompose without refocusing. It’s quite annoying actually. But other than that the camera was/is perfect. It’s small, silent, and damnnnnnnn sexy.

Day 1 and 2. Banaue and the Mountain Province. 

After a grueling, torturous, neck-breaking 13 hour bus ride north from Manila we arrived at our hotel at 1am. We crawled into bed, nursing our possibly terminally damaged necks, but were pleasantly surprised to wake up the next day to this view from our rooms:

We took a jeepney about an hour into the mountain to begin a trek to see the Banaue Rice Terraces. Jeepneys are the Philippine equivalent of busses and can be seen everywhere.

Our adorable Department of Tourism correspondent Alessa.

Along the way we reached a rough spot in the road. Luckily a road crew gave that jeepney a push and then plowed the road for ours.

Had to stop for a beer before the long trek. We drank copious amounts of San Miguel and a light 25% brandy that cost about $3 for a 1L bottle.

To get to the Banaue Rice Terraces the jeepney drops you at the top of the mountain, and then you trek 2 hours down the back. Along the way some kids might melt your heart, and an old lady will probably try to get you hooked on Betel Nut. Contrary to the woman’s promises, the betel nut did not make me high or irresistible to women.

Just a bird, chillin.

Banaue Rice Terraces

Traveling is all about who you’re with, and I lucked out. Our group members were all either bloggers or youtube personalities (except our 4 tour guides) and each brought a vibrant and unique character. Check out their pages.

In order – left to right.

Jin Seok Jin – Youtube extraordinaire. And member of Talk to me in Korean.
Kei Cho – From http://mangsangk.com/
Julia – Korean tour guide.
Alessa Mae Entienza – The group baby and our representative from the Philippine Toursim Department.
Harry – Korean tour guide.
Javi Maldonado – Owner of Somos in Hongdae, Youtube genius, and blogger at Todo Corea. He’s basically the guy you follow if you speak Spanish and are interested in Korea. Also a professional at splitting his pants. He managed to ruin two pairs. He also loves to eat crickets, as we’ll see in part 2.
Jasmine Bae – Blogger at http://mee0102.blog.me/ Also winner of most clothes worn down a water slide prize. 
Wonsup Kim  – Travel photographer genius, my personal hero, and also my roommate throughout the trip. Blog at http://blog.naver.com/gida1. He pretty much had the same photo kit I left back in Korea and so I unendingly envied his gear and cursed myself for leaving mine at home.
Darwin – Our tour guide at the Bananue Rice Fields. After 3 hours of trekking he barely broke a sweat. I, on the other hand, was burned and continuously self-showering. I have no idea how he’s chubby, he does that hike 3-4 times a week.
Hyojin Ahn – Talk to Me in Korean rep and the only one who didn’t eat any rice or bring a camera on the trip. She’s in the next picture, blowing Javi to pieces. She’s also a spongebob fanatic and pretend-eater.

We did several of these “levitation photos”. In the next one after this Javi split his pants from crotch to knee down the inner right thigh. He had to do a 3 hour walk of shame.

On the way down the mountain this guy with terrifically distinctive feet jumped on the back of our jeepney for a kilometer or so.

In another region of the mountain provinces. It can’t be overstated or overimagined how prevalent these rice terraces are. They are all built by hand, stone by stone, and they are everywhere.

Wait, this looks familiar… Oh.. 1,000 peso note… equivalent to about $25.

A traditional Ifugao gentleman.

This guy pulled an amazing photobomb. Considering my shutter was at 1/250 of a second, this guy timed it perfectly. Well done sir. I doubt you’ll ever be beat.

Day three and four. Sagada.

Julia modeling for me in the attic of our hotel. 

Hanging coffins in Echo Valley, Sagada. Apparently the tradition is still practiced and the latest body was hung in 2010.

Old church ceiling.

Our Philippine tour guide throughout the whole trip, Omar. Always up for a joke and laugh. Thank God he was there, the trip wouldn’t have been the same without him.

1 hour trek down to a waterfall near Sagada.

Jin and Wonsup went for a dive.

Julia modeling for me again. Thanks Julia!

Sumaguing Caves, Sagada

These caves were amazing. It’s about a 1 hour trek down to the bottom where there are crystal clear pools. The trip is a bit treacherous though and not for the faint of heart. The rocks are extremely slippery. But it’s well worth it.

When leaving Sagada I saw this majestic dog just chillin. Had to snap a picture.

Unedited photo of morning mist in the mountains near Sagada.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in about a week!